The invention relates to a telescopic strut for an external fixator, especially for use with an external ring fixator.
A plurality of compression-distraction apparatus have been designed and improved by Ilizarov and his group using two external rings to be placed around the limb to be fixed. There are usually at least two such rings, one proximal and one distal ring, which are connected with a plurality of struts or rods. Preferably, these struts are linked to the rings in a way that the attachment points can be pivoted and the length of the strut can be varied to enable adjustment of the external fixation rings.
Ilizarov has also provided some improvements for said systems. European Patent No. 0 377 744 shows a telescopic strut for such an external fixator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,338 shows a further device to control the length of such telescopic struts.
A different external ring fixator having telescopic struts is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,702,389 and 6,030,386. Other telescopic struts are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,057,474 and 8,062,293 assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.